Glasgow researchers say brain injury could lead to degenerative disease

A single traumatic brain injury can lead to a degenerative disease, a study of patients has found.

The University of Glasgow said it had found the first evidence that just a single injury can generate an abnormal form of the dementia-associated protein tau that can slowly spread through the brain, resulting in memory deficits and neuronal damage.

Working with the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan, a research team analysed brain specimens from patients surviving a year or more after a severe injury and discovered widespread deposits of abnormal tau proteins.

Parallel studies found the same type of abnormal tau in injured mice, which, over time, spread from the site of injury to remote brain regions.

In Europe, more than five million people live with a physical or psychological disability due to moderate or severe traumatic brain injury.

The new study, published in the journal Brain, suggests that blocking tau propagation may have therapeutic effects.

Dr Elisa Zanier, who led the Milan team, said: "Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability in young adults.

"Moreover, even in milder cases, it represents a risk factor for dementia, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

"Understanding the mechanism linking an acute mechanical event to a progressive, degenerative brain disease would help the development of new therapies.

"This observation that a single brain trauma is associated with widespread tau deposition in humans and to the formation of a self-propagating form of tau in a relevant animal model provides the first evidence for how a mechanical brain injury might evolve into chronic degenerative brain disease, including CTE.''

Dr Willie Stewart, honorary clinical associate professor from the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology at University of Glasgow, said: "As part of this study we analysed brain specimens from patients surviving a year or more after a single, severe traumatic brain injury.

"In this material we saw evidence of much more widespread deposits of abnormal tau proteins in brain injured patients than in normal control brains."